Sadia Warsi, Ph.D.

Programs/Classes Taught:

EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION
ECE 502: Early Childhood Infant/Toddler Experiences
ECE 504: Human Development: Infancy and Childhood
ECE 510: Child, Family and Community
ECE 523: Historical and Philosophical Foundations in Early Childhood Education

SPECIAL EDUCATION (Learning Behavior Specialist 1)
SPE 507: Social/Emotional Development Teaching and Support
SPE 508 Literacy across the Curriculum for Students with Disabilities  
SPE 509 Literacy Instruction for Diverse Learners
DEE 690 Special Topics in Disability and Equity Studies: Confluence of Disability and Poverty

Areas of Expertise:
Early Childhood Development of Children in Diverse Environments, Experiences of Children in Homeless Shelter, Disability and Literacy, Emergent Literacy Development of Children in Multicultural Environments, Minority Parent Involvement in Special Education, Urban Teacher Education, Inclusion and Qualitative Methodology.

Biography:
Dr. Sadia Warsi is a tenured Associate Professor in the Special Education Program. She joined the special education program at National Louis University in 2003. She teaches an array of graduate classes in Early Childhood Education and the Special Education Programs related to Child Development, Family and Community, Literacy, Social and Emotional Development of Students with Disabilities, Frameworks and Perspectives in Disability and Poverty and Disability. She has also taught classes in the Alternative Teacher Licensure Program in Special Education at NLU.

Sadia has extensive experience in working with pre-service and in-service teachers in Early Childhood and Special Education urban settings. Sadia’s experiences and influences as a student in India, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Canada along with her work with families who are homeless and immigrant families of young students with disabilities inform her teaching, service and research at NLU.

Sadia consults with public and private schools related to the inclusion of young minority and refugee children with disabilities and multiculturalism.

Publications:
Warsi, S. (2025, September). Beyond labels: Understanding refugee students with disabilities in educational contexts. Myers Education Press. https://myersedpress.presswarehouse.com/browse/book/9781975509231/Beyond-Labels

Warsi, S. (2024a). Accepting and understanding the needs of Muslim immigrant families in special education. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Fall Edition.

Warsi, S. (2024b). Fostering belonging in academia: The importance of affinity groups for Muslim and minority faculty in special education. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Fall Edition.

Warsi, S. (2024c). Understanding trauma responses: Supporting war-affected refugee students. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Fall Edition.

Warsi, S., Fitzgerald, K., & Wakefield, D. (2024). Empowering Amira: A UDL journey through Joey Pigza's world. Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals, Fall Edition.

Teahan, E., McDaniel-Hall, G., Warsi, S., Smith, T., & Knauth, S. (2023). Engaging higher education students in creating curricular content to increase equity. Inquiry in Education.

Warsi, S. (2023). Welcoming refugee children into early childhood classrooms. In Spotlight on young children: Social and emotional development. NAEYC.

Presentations:
Warsi, S. (2024, October). Discovering resilience and hope in children's literature on Islam and Muslims [Conference presentation]. Critical Questions in Education Conference, Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA.

Warsi, S. (2024, October). Belonging in academia as a Muslim professor: Social activism and student engagement [Conference presentation]. Critical Questions in Education Conference, Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA.

Warsi, S. (2024, October). Utilizing children's literature to explore themes of global justice in teacher education [Conference presentation]. Critical Questions in Education Conference, Pittsburgh Marriott City Center Hotel, Pittsburgh, PA.

Warsi, S., Klauth, S., & McDonald, G. (2023). Engaging higher education students in creating curricular content to increase equity [Conference presentation]. American Educational Research Association Annual Convention.

Warsi, S., Gamez-Djokic, B., Gonzalez, S., Mendez, W., Rembert, K., & Tate, L. (2023). AAC&U conference on diversity, equity, and student success [Conference presentation].

Education:
2000 Ph. D., Special Education, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Education
1995 M.A.T., Special Education, The American University, College of Education
1993 B.A., English Literature, University of Manitoba

Research and Interests:
The Importance of Literacy and Books in Children's Development in Homeless Shelters
School Assimilation Experiences of Refugee Children
Inclusion of Young Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Classrooms

Contact Information:
Sadia Warsi, Ph. D
Professor, Early Childhood and Special Education
(312) 261-3835
swarsi@nl.edu 
NATIONAL LOUIS UNIVERSITY | 122 SOUTH MICHIGAN AVE., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60603